Fall of the USSR

• Economic - Centralised economy

  
  

  • It was impossible to run the economy across the whole USSR from Moscow.
  • Bureaucrats sometimes failed to coordinate fertiliser shipments and they arrived at farms at the wrong time.
  • Incorrect steel and oil products were sent to factories.
• Economic - Lack of incentives

  
  

  • There were few incentives within the communist economy for working hard or innovating. This led to lower productivity levels.
  • Industrial targets were always based on quantity, not quality. Goods produced were often useless.
• Economic -US rivals

  
  

  • US rivals 6x more productive than Soviet farms but required fewer workers.
• Economic - Undeveloped aspects of the economy

  
  

  • Transport links remained undeveloped throughout the period.
  • Storage facilities remained undeveloped, so a lot of product was wasted.
• Economic - Military expenditure between 1965-85

  
  

  • During the 2 decades after 1965, spending on defence went up from 12-17%.
  • In the phase of the Cold War, the US spent around 6% on defence.
• Economic - Rationalisation 1985-86 - Uskorenie (acceleration)


  
  

  • It failed because borrowing money from Western governments led to huge rise in national debt.
  • This led to inflation.
  • Investment in energy did noy have a desired effect.
• Economic - anti-alcohol campaign

  
  

  • 1985 - production in state-run factories decreased by 50%
  • Taskforce with 56,000 members to stop illegal production
  • 1987 consumption still at double of 1960
  • 1987 - citizens aged 15+ consuming 15-16 litres a year
  • Illegal alcohol called Samogon
  • Caused the gov to loose 67 billion roubles
• Economic - Gorbachev's phases of economic reform

  
  

  • Rationalisation - tried to make improvements to the existing state-controlled command economy.
  • Reform - tried to introduce some free market measures into the existing economic structure. He wanted a hybrid of socialism and capitalism.
  • Transformation - Abandoned the state-controlled command economy entirely.
• Economic - 500 Day Programme

  
  

  • Designed in 1990 by Shatalin and Lavlinskili
  • Plan was to reach widespread privatisation and complete marketisation in 2 years
  • G backed down from using the plan after pressure from senior hardliner communists
  • G was still committed, but at a slower pace
• Economic - Market reforms leading to economic chaos

  
  

  • Shortages of essential goods became more and more severe.
  • Distribution of goods such as grain became ever more tricky.
  • GDP fell 4% from 1986-90.
  • Led to drop in approval ratings among politicians, many were enriching themselves through buying privatised companies.
• Economic - Economic reform 1986-1990

  
  

  • 1986 - Law on Individual Economic Activity made it legal to take on side jobs in the 'second' economy which was not controlled by the state.
  • 1987 - Law on State Enterprises gave distributing power to factory managers rather then central government administration.
  • 1988 - Law on Co-Operatives made it legal to set up large co-operatives. In practice, these were private corporations.
• Political - Aims for democracy

  
  

  • Gorbachev wanted the Leninist one-party dictatorship towards democracy to better fit communist ideology.
  • He presented the idea that Lenin wanted to move towards democracy in the long-term.
  • Wanted to use democracy as a way to purge corrupt officials from the party.
• Political - Gorbachev and freedom of speech

  
  

  • Wanted greater freedom of speech.
  • Through greater participation in government, Gorbachev wanted to make people less cynical about Soviet rule.
• Political - Dangers of political reform

  
  

  • Gorbachev realised that limited reform could lead to demands for greater change in the political landscape.
  • The Communist Party was the main institution holding together the entire Soviet Union. it had the role of a supernational body.
  • Important not to undermine the party so much that the country would collapse around it.
• Political - Encouraging debate

  
  

  • In 1985 Gorbachev tried to open debate in the party and gave intellectuals and academics more power to express their opinions.
  • The public was also given better access to public records and documents.
• Political - Glasnost

  
  

  • Means 'openness' and relied on the idea that the government had a responsibility to be truthful to the people about Soviet history and its economy.
  • In 1988 criticisms of Marx and Lenin began appearing in the press.
  • Foreign media became widely available.
• Political - Gorbachev's democracy reforms

  
  

  • 1988 - The Party Conference allowed elections to Soviets involving several candidates.
  • The first election was in 1989. 5 members of the Central Committee lost their seats and reformists were more successful.
  • Boris Yeltsin won 89% in Moscow.
• Political - 1990 Republic elections

  
  

  • A further weakening of the Communist Party happened during the nationwide elections of 1990.
  • 'Democratic Russia' secured 85% of the seats in Moscow.
  • It became increasingly clear that Gorbachev's reforms were backfiring for communism.
• Political - Internal conflict in the Communist Party

  
  

  • Reforms divided the party into more traditional Communist hardliners, more moderate members and the most radical Communists who supported the reforms.
• Political - New positions in government

  
  

  • Gorbachev created the position of 'President' hoping it would give him more legitimacy, but the position was not elected.
  • Newly elected politicians had much more authority than him.
• Nationalism- National sentiment in the USSR

  
  

  • There were 15 Republics in the Soviet Union.
  • These consisted of various national and ethnic groups.
• Nationalism - Impact of Gorbachev's purges on nationalism

  
  

  • After his purges, he replaced Brezhnev's supporters with his own, who were often ethnic Russians.
  • Politburo only had 1 member who was not Russian, led to discontent in the regions of the USSR.
  • People blamed Russian leaders coming into power for the decline of living conditions happening at the same time.
• Nationalism - Glasnost's impact on citizens

  
  

  • Because the government revealed Stalin's poor treatment of national minorities, many were very angry.
  • Soviet citizens became increasingly aware of how bad their living conditions were compared to those in the West.
• Nationalism - Renegotiating the relationship with nationalists

  
  

  • Gorbachev wanted to give more autonomy to the individual Republics.
  • from 1990-91, Gorbachev tried to negotiate a treaty to decentralise the Soviet Union.
  • Mid-July 1991 - 8 of the leaders of the republics had agreed on the Union of Sovereign States treaty.
• Individuals - Coup against Gorbachev

  
  

  • In 1991, 8 Communist leaders announced that they were forming the Emergency Committee, this would bring an end to Gorbachev's rule.
  • Gorbachev's deputy and the heads of the KGB were involved in the coup.
  • Yeltsin opposed the coup. The army tried to arrest him, but the soldiers refused to do so.
  • The army did not support the coup, so it failed.
• Individuals - Aftermath of the failed coup

  
  

  • The country was now in a perilous position.
  • Yeltsin's opposition to the leading communist hardliners who had tried to overthrow Gorbachev made him more popular.
• Nationalism - Independence

  
  

  • Nationalists in Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan had declared independence in September 1991.
  • In December 1991, 90% of Ukrainians voted to separate from the USSR, with 20% of the Soviet population living there, this was a crucial step.
  • This ended Gorbachev's attempts to save the Union by talking individually to the leaders of the Republics.
• Individuals - The Minsk Agreement

  
  

  • Yeltsin, along with the leaders of Ukraine and Belarus, signed it.
  • The USSR was replaced with the CIS - Commonwealth of independent States.
  • 11/15 Soviet Republics were members by the end of 1991.
  • USSR no longer existed.
• Individuals - Gorbachev's relaxed control

  
  

  • Stated publicly that he wouldn't use violence to hold together the Soviet Union.
  • Placed more of an emphasis on respecting the rights of individuals.
  • Didn't want to repeat Stalin's terror, instead trying to divert with glasnost.
• Individuals - Gorbachev's tactics

  
  

  • Was not able to win support from the Communist party for his ideas. internal resistance meant that his new ideas would never take hold in the country at large.
  • Tried to introduce democracy but refused to stand for election himself to be President.
• Individuals - Yeltsin's role

  
  

  • Had initially supported Gorbachev. But, as an electable and popular politician himself, he wanted Gorbachev to go further.
  • Was popular for addressing the corruption and privileges of the Communist party in a public way. He was able to win 89% of the votes in Moscow in 1989.
• Individuals - Yeltsin and nationalism

  
  

  • Unlike Gorbachev, he was a supported of nationalist movements and those in other republics.
  • In 1990 Yeltsin went to a number of different republics around the USSR. He told leaders of those regions to take as much sovereignty from Moscow as they could.
  • When the republics declared independence, Yeltsin supported them.
• Individuals - Yeltsin's power

  
  

  • Was able to develop a more powerful base of support by winning the election for the Russian presidency and the elections to the Russian parliament.
  • By contrast, Gorbachev had never faced an election and became increasingly illegitimate.
  • After the coup, Yeltsin banned the Communist party and seized its wealth.
• Economic - 12th FYP - 1986


  
  

  • idea was that a huge injection of government investment would be use to rapidly modernise the soviet economy
  • Failed due to global circumstances, like $50 per oil barrel fall in international prices, resulting in a 66% drop in soviet oil
  • National debt rose by nearly $10 million to reach a total of $27.2 billion in 1988
  • resulted in a 3.8% rise in the budget deficit
• Economic - Stock market created 1991


  
  

  • allowed citizens to buy and sell shares and own private property
  • These changes were not bold enough so economy continued to decline
  • Oil fell by 9% and steel by 12%
  • Official government report called it a 'catastrophe'
• Political - liberalisation of the media

  • After 1986 Congress, G gave Yakovlev control of Soviet media
  • New radical editors heading Moscow News
  • Newspapers talking about Stalin's terror
  • Stories admitting to economic failure
  • Publication of previously banned books, films and plays
• Nationalism - Poland

  • Free trade union called 'Solidarity' wins election in 1989
• Nationalism - East Germany

  • 1989 - 300,000 people protested in Leipzig
  • 1 million people protest in East Berlin
  • 1984 - fall of Berlin Wall
• Nationalism - Hungary

  • 1988 - multiparty state accepted
  • 1990 - democratic elections won by anti-communist groups
• Nationalism - Bulgaria

  • 1990 - democratic elections won by renamed Communist party